Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Each of you, receive your subordinate armies and prepare to annihilate the Yizhou Army. Though they've gained a complete victory on this forced march, their unorganized acceptance of soldiers along the way has left them unable to properly restructure, swelling uncontrollably. Just one decisive blow will lead to their total collapse!" Pang Tong said calmly.

During earlier planning, Pang Tong hadn't considered that Yan Yan would gather all the routed soldiers he discarded. Yet reality proved more exaggerated than he imagined—after winning five successive battles, Yan Yan began relentlessly recruiting routed soldiers under Pang Tong's banner. The situation escalated to the point where he started pulling in defenders from various cities.

Of course, this bloated structure wouldn't be an issue if they could maintain the pursuit. Victory often overrides logistics problems. However, under Pang Tong's deliberate scheming, one direct strike could thoroughly shatter Yan Yan, leaving the Yizhou Army in utter defeat.

Army swelling, disorganized dispatching, fragmented leadership—these are all fatal weaknesses. Yet these issues were consistently overshadowed by Yan Yan's succession of victories, blinding Zheng Du, Yan Yan, and others who, though aware of the problems, became increasingly complacent in their success.

Sun Ce barely clings to life. If they can defeat him, seize half of Jingzhou, and reorganize after crossing Yiling, the situation could turn decisively in their favor. But if they stall now, it would only give Sun Ce a chance to escape with his forces. Pursue, pursue, pursue!

With this mindset prevailing, neither Yan Yan nor Zheng Du paid any attention to these glaring issues, convinced in Sun Ce's inability to retaliate and the impossibility of reinforcements arriving in time.

Victory sometimes blinds even the wisest. Liu Ba felt unease, but a string of major victories made his already faint voice within the army completely drown out.

Regardless of whether those generals loyal to Sun Ce maintained belief or disbelief, after receiving Yuan Shu's elite soldiers distributed among their ranks, doubt was erased. This was undeniably Pang Tong's scheme. Once those troops were incorporated under their banners, direction crystallized; everyone yearned for triumph.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you know very well which generals on the other side you've faced along the way. The ones you hate most—deal with them as you see fit. Unleash the fury burning in your hearts!" Pang Tong stoked the anger of the gathered generals with calculated precision.

"Lebo! I'll kill him myself!" Zhang Xun growled through clenched teeth, his eyes aflame.

"Chen Jian, that traitor—I'll cut him down personally!" Li Feng declared furiously.

"Leave Li Yi to the two of us." Yang Xun and Li Xin exchanged determined glances.

Soon enough, Sun Ce's officers each identified their adversaries. As they began the hunt, they carried a belly full of rage. Having already fought the enemy generals, they were well-acquainted with their targets and had chosen matchups suited to them, even recognizing their faces.

"Don't let yourselves die too easily!" Pang Tong swept his gaze across the group. "I'm waiting to host a celebration banquet for you in Jiangzhou!"

The crowd froze briefly, then burst into laughter. Zhang Xun stepped forward, clasping his hands together to salute Pang Tong. "Advisor, I swear I'll be at that Jiangzhou banquet!"

"Prepare yourselves. They'll be here in no more than an hour!" Pang Tong gestured with a wave, signaling them to make ready.

On the other side, Liu Bei's forces, led by Chief General Taishi Ci with Deputy Chen Dao, successfully passed through Nanyang and arrived at South Commandery.

It's worth noting that, though Nanyang theoretically fell under Cao Cao's jurisdiction, practically speaking, His control south of Wancheng was nearly nonexistent. Likewise, Yuan Shu had refrained from advancing south of Wancheng, establishing a frontier along Xinye.

This lack of concrete governance allowed Zhuge Liang to maneuver through the region without difficulty and reach South Commandery's borders, where he encountered Zhang Song, a man prepared to leverage the decisive victory for an opportunity to visit Liu Bei—the strongest Liu Clan descendant in the empire.

"Assistant Officer Zhang, are you saying Sun Ce suffered one defeat after another, losing over ten battles—from Badong all the way to Yiling?" Zhuge Liang asked in disbelief.

"Secretary-General Zhuge, you're still so young! Back when I was your age, I was merely a County Magistrate in Langzhong," Zhang Song sighed as he spoke, and an indescribable hint of jealousy colored his tone.

"I merely owe Lord Xuande's favor for elevating me to Secretary-General; I still lack experience in governance. Errors in administrative knowledge are common; comparing myself to Assistant Officer Zhang would be inappropriate," Zhuge Liang, recognizing Zhang Song's envy over his position, swiftly steered the conversation away from battle to align with Zhang Song's underlying sentiments.

During the late Han, the hierarchy placed the Assistant Officer below the Regional Inspector and Provincial Governor, with the Secretary-General even further down. However, in terms of rank, thirty-something Zhang Song and Zhuge Liang, barely half his age, technically shared an equivalent status. Such circumstances naturally fueled Zhang Song's envy and resentment.

"Lord Xuande managed to rise from humble beginnings in Mount Tai to forge a monumental enterprise. How could his ability to discern talent be so mistaken? Kongming, you must not undermine yourself," Zhang Song responded, the bitterness fading momentarily as a smile crossed his unappealing face. He went on to extoll Zhuge Liang further.

Still, Zhuge Liang's youthful, handsome appearance remained an ongoing sore point for Zhang Song. After smiling twice, his jealous sentiment resurged.

"Assistant Officer Zhang, could you recount the recent battles in detail? It would ease our minds greatly. Lord Xuande, upon hearing of Liu Yizhou's campaign against Yuan Shu, personally sent me to lend you all the help I could. While I regret being of little assistance thus far, such results only highlight the Yizhou Army's valor," Zhuge Liang remarked half in flattery, half in deliberate misdirection.

There's an old saying: the one who knows you best is always your adversary. Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were lifelong rivals, and because of this, upon hearing of Pang Tong's leadership over Sun Ce's routed troops, Zhuge Liang's immediate instinct was that something was amiss. Pang Tong was not someone easily beaten.

Of course, such thoughts remained locked inside Zhuge Liang's mind. He wouldn't dare voice them in Zhang Song's presence.

Such comments would amount to outright mockery of Yizhou's entire forces. Zhang Song might storm off in a fury if he heard them. After all, who could believe that three immensely talented strategists would be outplayed by a sixteen-year-old novice? Moreover, Zhuge Liang could tell Zhang Song and his peers were deeply proud individuals.

"Hiss…" Zhuge Liang audibly sucked in his breath after hearing Zhang Song's account. One thought dominated his mind: whoever devised this strategy must be utterly insane. It was absurd to rely on such a risky gambit.

The Battle of Badong veered dangerously close to catastrophe, where the slightest misstep could spell disaster—but such high stakes brought unparalleled returns. It resulted in an overwhelming multi-front success, setting the stage for a final, central explosion of triumph. Zhuge Liang estimated that if Zhang Song's recounting wasn't fabricated, then Sun Ce's forces would have been obliterated beyond recovery!

[Zhang Song seems exceptionally composed, but anyone capable of crafting such a strategy must be deeply abnormal! This entire plan amounted to gambling that their army wouldn't collapse!] Zhuge Liang shivered internally, realizing that Zhang Song's claim that all three strategists possessed Spiritual Talent may indeed be true. Yet even with such capabilities, Zhuge Liang found such reckless strategies unnerving.